Thursday, May 6, 2010

Success Story! Jeremiasen - Petersen immigration record discovered

It has been along and arduous task, but at last I have discovered my very first immigration record of any of my family lines! The record shows my great-great grandparents, Peter Jeremiasen (first name spelled Peder on the record), his wife Elsa (I've seen it recorded as Elsie and Elsia) and children Margretha, Maren, Karen and Jens, my great-grandfather. The parents retained the surname Jeremiasen after they came to the United States. The children took the surname Petersen, as per Danish naming tradition.

It was exciting enough to see all of the given names and ages matching my family tree, but when I saw that their destination was Waterloo, Iowa, I was ecstatic since I knew that's where the family lived when they came to the United States.

The other new information I have from this record is that the family arrived in Quebec, Canada in June, 1888 on a ship called the Sarmatian. They had departed from Liverpool, England.

With these few pieces of information, I've broken through a brick wall that has perplexed me for years! Family lore is that my great grandfather Jens' wife-to-be, Karoline Hansen, was on the same ship with the Jeremiasen/Petersen family. So my research is just beginning - to locate her and find out more about this immigrant ship.